Latest items for Senegal

"Title II of the Family Code deals with intestate inheritance rights. The lineage is divided into 'legitimate' heirs, 'natural' heirs and 'joined' heirs. Articles 520-528 specify the possible legitimate descendants and their ranking: the one with the highest degree of consanguinity is always ﬁrst in line; thus, ﬁrst the children and their descendants, if any; thereafter the deceased’s ascendants; then collateral parents and, ﬁnally, the surviving spouse. In order to inherit her/his full share, a child born out of wedlock must be recognised and accepted by the natural father’s wife, and by all his wives in a polygamous marriage. The inheritance of an unrecognised child is only half that of...more

"Under Islamic law, women in polygamous unions inherit less than those in monogamous marriages, since the eighth share of the man’s property which is allocated to a widow is divided among the wives and the shares allocated to children are divided among all the children of the deceased, with sons receiving twice the share that daughters received" (84). "In practice, most widows interviewed inherited a share of their deceased husband’s property (in the case of polygamous marriages), or owned property in their own right in urban areas. In Muslim families, the process of sharing the deceased’s assets according to Islamic law was usually led by male relatives, sometimes in consultation...more

"Under customary law, women retain lifelong minority status. They are under their father’s authority; when married they become the ward of their husband; and upon the death of their spouse, they are inherited by a male relative, or remain under the care of their son. Many of Senegal’s ethnic groups still practice widow inheritance under customary law" (104)

"Parties to a polygamous marriage may choose between the 'dote' regime and a 'separation of property' system: Under the 'dote' regime the husband is the sole owner and administrator of the marriage property, and the only property at a wife’s personal disposal for the duration of the marriage is her dowry. Under the 'separation of property' system, each spouse maintains ownership of the property he or she brought into the marriage or acquires during the subsistence of the marriage. However, the husband may designate personal property acquired by him during the marriage (and thus considered his) as belonging to a particular spouse; the designated property then becomes that spouse’s property...more

According to the WHO violence and homocide statistics, the total femicide rate as of 2015 was 3.0 per 100,000 female population. For ages 15-44, the rate was calculated to be 1.78 per 100,000 female population.

"During the 30-year Casamance conflict, tens of thousands of persons left villages in the region due to fighting, forced removal, and land mines. The government estimated 10,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) remained in the Casamance. Some international humanitarian assistance agencies estimated the IDP number to be as high as 40,000. During the year a growing number of IDPs returned to their villages in the Casamance . . . Since 1989 the country has offered temporary protection to Mauritanian refugees, who generally lived in dispersed locations in the Senegal River valley along the Mauritanian border and enjoyed free movement within the country. According to UNHCR, the vast majority of the remaining...more

"In rural areas and in some urban areas, . . . lack of funds led to closing of maternity wards and operating rooms. At times cultural norms impeded women’s access to information regarding sexual health. According to 2011 statistics provided by the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), skilled personnel attended approximately 52 percent of births and provided prenatal care in 87 percent of cases; the maternal mortality ratio was 410 deaths per 100,000 live births; and the lifetime risk of maternal death was one in 31. The Ministry of Health and Social Action estimated most maternal deaths in childbirth were preventable if skilled health personnel and emergency obstetrical services were available"...more

"The government did not effectively enforce applicable laws against forced labor, and such practices continued to occur, particularly forced child labor, including forced begging by children in Quranic schools (see sections 6 and 7.c.). Some children in these schools (“daaras”) were kept in conditions of servitude, being forced to work daily, generally in street begging, and had to meet a daily quota for money (or sometimes sugar or rice) to their teachers. Despite some increased effort, enforcement and awareness of antitrafficking and forced labor laws remained poor across sectors. There were no public data on arrests, prosecutions, or convictions for forced begging. There were no reports of victims being removed...more

"The government collaborated with the NGO Tostan and other groups to educate individuals about FGM/C’s inherent dangers. The government also collaborated with the NGO Group for Population Studies and Education to develop a course on the dangers of FGM/C, which was being integrated into high school and college curriculums. At the community level, Tostan continued to implement a three-year community empowerment program that influenced 760 villages to decide to abandon FGM/C" (page 15).

"Other major human rights problems included: . . . domestic violence . . . [and] child abuse" (page 1). "Several women’s groups and the Committee to Combat Violence against Women and Children (CLVF) reported a rise in violence against women . . . Although current statistics on domestic violence were unavailable, a UN study published in 2015 and based on data collected from relevant national services between 2008 and 2010 in eight regions revealed 507 cases in Dakar, 263 in Thies, 279 in Kaolack, 227 in Diourbel, 201 in Louga, 176 in St Louis, 110 in Fatick, and 67 in Kaffrine. The true incidence of domestic violence was thought to...more

"Social and cultural pressures to have large families reportedly led some husbands to ask health workers to terminate the use of contraceptives by their spouses. This reportedly led women to be discreet in the use of contraception. According to a 2014 study funded by the government and a foreign entity, however, the percentage of girls and women between ages 15 and 49 who used modern contraception increased from 12 percent in 2010 to 20 percent in 2014" (page 16).

The government collaborated with the NGO Tostan and other groups to educate individuals about FGM/C’s inherent dangers. The government also collaborated with the NGO Group for Population Studies and Education to develop a course on the dangers of FGM/C, which was being integrated into high school and college curriculums. At the community level, Tostan continued to implement a three-year community empowerment program that influenced 760 villages to decide to abandon FGM/C (page 15).